1. Hawthorne Glen
EVAN MUSIL, ARTS AND CULTURES EDITOR
My favorite spot is Hawthorne Glen, a forested enclave nestled in the West Side of Milwaukee. The leaves turn into lovely shades of orange and yellow around this time of year. A winding trail at the top of a tree-covered hill runs down to the bottom, allowing you to be completely enveloped in autumnal glory. And with a smaller footprint of about 25 acres, you can get lost without actually getting lost. 1130 N. 60th St.
2. Humboldt Park
BRIANNA SCHUBERT, ASSOCIATE DIGITAL EDITOR
Any park in Milwaukee is sure to be beautiful this time of year, but I particularly love walking through Humboldt Park and looking at the trees. The ones around the pond look stunning, and there’s also a bunch of bright, stunning trees on the hill that just make it feel like a wonderland. 3000 S. Howell Ave.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
3. Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive
CHRIS DROSNER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
For me it’s the Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive, a winding 115 miles of back roads through Southeastern Wisconsin. The route’s gorgeous, rolling patchwork of farm fields and forest is never prettier than this time a year, when the forest’s canopy – which hangs over the roads in places – glows, yellow, orange and red. My favorite stretches straddle Fond du Lac and Sheboygan counties – Scenic Drive near Dundee and around the Greenbush area. The DNR offers detailed, turn-by-turn directions, but you can just connect to it wherever you are (it crosses I-94 at Highway C near Delafield and I-41 near Slinger) and follow the numerous and hard-to-miss signs.
4. Cumberland
MELISA MACKEVICIUS, MEDIA EXECUTIVE
I’ve always loved seeing the fall colors on our drive to our family farm in Northwest Wisconsin. It’s a long drive from Milwaukee (or Chicago where I grew up), especially when we take local highways. Plus, I love taking a hike in the woods on our property where you feel in tune with nature (imagine me spinning around in a pile of leaves like in The Sound of Music). Looks like peak viewing time is mid-October for our little town of Cumberland.
5. Grandad Bluff
ARCHER PARQUETTE, MANAGING EDITOR
In another life, I like to imagine myself rafting down the mighty Mississippi with my golden retriever, Meriweather Machiavelli, living the life of a lonesome drifter – smelling bad but feeling good. There’s a voice that keeps on calling me. Down the road, that’s where I’ll always be. Every stop I take, I make a new friend. Can’t stay for long, just turn around, I’m gone again. These are the wandering sentiments that La Crosse awakens in me, and from the 600-foot-high peak of Grandad Bluff, you get a majestic view of the entire region. It’s one of the best views in the state, and particularly enjoyable when the autumn colors are at their peak around mid-October. 3020 Grandad Bluff Rd., La Crosse
6. Holy Hill
LISA BAKER, MEDIA EXECUTIVE
There’s no contest – Holy Hill! 1525 Carmel Rd., Hubertus
